What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Device identification and purpose

  • Most commenters conclude the switch and puck are part of an aftermarket GPS fleet-tracking system, commonly installed by dealers or finance companies for repossession or fleet management.
  • The metal puck is widely recognized as an iButton / 1‑wire reader for driver identification; the toggle likely marks trips as business vs personal for tax/HR purposes, or logs “on duty/off duty.”
  • A few speculate alternative functions (panic button, extra lights, tracking off switch) but fleet-tracking + business/personal logging is seen as the best fit.
  • Some are surprised dealers don’t remove such hardware before resale; others say it’s typical and often just left deactivated.

Tracking, privacy, and GDPR

  • Commenters debate GDPR implications when a used car still transmits location.
  • Consensus: if location data can be linked to an identifiable person, it’s personal data; the “data controller” (fleet company, dealer, OEM) must have a legal basis and must honor access/erasure requests.
  • Several note the owner has the right to request all data held about them; others worry enforcement is weak and data may still be misused or sold (e.g., references to carmakers reselling telematics to insurers, data brokers).
  • Some see a strong analogy to hidden cameras left in a home: intrusion into a private space, not just “no privacy in public roads.”

Ownership and abandoned equipment

  • Long subthreads argue whether hardware/SIMs left in a sold car or house remain the previous owner’s property or are “abandoned.”
  • Examples span alarm systems, security cameras, and stored goods in barns, with anecdotes of courts siding with former owners and of “involuntary bailee” duties in some jurisdictions.
  • Many insist they’d simply rip out cameras or trackers inside their property regardless of formal ownership.

Telematics, kill switches, and government overreach

  • A US requirement for “driver impairment” tech is hotly debated:
    • One side says media exaggerated claims that police get a remote kill switch; current designs only auto-intervene based on in‑car sensing.
    • Others argue that functionally it is still a kill switch, raises hacking/government-abuse risks, and could fail dangerously (false positives, emergencies).
  • Broader worry: modern cars embed always‑on GPS/modems (eSIM, eCall, OEM services) that can’t realistically be disabled, turning cars into “smartphones on wheels.”

Using the embedded SIM

  • Some fantasize about “free data” from the tracker’s SIM; pushback calls that theft or computer misuse, though others argue abandoned contracts muddy the issue.
  • Technical replies note many IoT SIMs are locked to private APNs, tiny data plans, or already deactivated, limiting abuse.

Broader reactions to modern connected cars

  • Many express preference for older, simpler cars they can repair and that lack pervasive telemetry.
  • Others counter that newer cars bring major safety and convenience gains, and that phones already leak far more location data than cars do.